A resistive film-type touch panel is widely used as an input unit for a household appliance or a portable terminal. When a user pushes a part of the touch panel or draws with a specialized pen on a part of the touch panel, the part comes into contact with an opposing electrode, so that the portion and the electrode are electrically connected and a signal is inputted.
A typical resistive film-type touch panel has a lower electrode 3′ formed of a transparent electro-conductive thin film 2′ laminated on a glass plate 1′, an upper electrode 6′ formed of a transparent electro-conductive thin film 5′ formed on a polymer film 4′, and spacers 7′ interposed between the transparent electro-conductive thin films 2′ and 5′ as shown in FIG. 2. Pressing the display surface of the upper electrode 6′ with a finger or a pen makes the upper electrode 6′ and the lower electrode 3′ into contact with each other, so that these electrodes are electrically connected and a signal is outputted. The front of the upper electrode 6′ is overlaid with a hard-coating layer 8′ for protecting the polymer film 4′.
It is necessary for the touch panel 6′ to have good resistance to scuffing, because the touch surface on the upper electrode 6′ is often pressed and rubbed with a finger or pen. It is necessary for the upper electrode 6′ to spring back after the upper electrode 6′ is pressed and rubbed with a finger or pen so as to come into contact with the lower electrode 3′.
A front panel of a PDP (plasma display panel) is required to have anti-reflecting properties, heat ray reflecting properties (near infrared blocking capability), and electromagnetic wave shielding capability. A front panel overlaid with a multi-lamination film having layers of metal compound such as ITO (indium tin oxide) and layers of electrically conductive metal such as Ag which are formed alternately on a PET film has the heat ray reflecting properties and the electromagnetic wave shielding capability.
The laminated layers are formed by sputtering process, vacuum spraying process, ion plating process, CVD process or the like.